Bovie Movie

The true story of prominent mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. is the subject of this biographical drama from director Ron Howard. Russell Crowe stars as the brilliant but arrogant and conceited professor Nash. The prof seems guaranteed a rosy future in the early ’50s after he marries beautiful student Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) and makes a remarkable advancement in the foundations of “game theory,” which carries him to the brink of international acclaim. Soon after, John is visited by Agent William Parcher (Ed Harris), from the CIA, who wants to recruit him for code-breaking activities. But evidence suggests that Nash’s perceptions of reality are cloudy at best; he is struggling to maintain his tenuous hold on sanity, and Alicia suspects a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Battling decades of illness with the loyal Alicia by his side, Nash is ultimately able to gain some control over his mental state, and eventually goes on to triumphantly win the Nobel Prize. Based loosely on the book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind (2001) co-stars Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Christopher Plummer, and Judd Hirsch.

With an insane asylum standing in for everyday society, Milos Forman’s 1975 film adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel is a comically sharp indictment of the Establishment urge to conform. Playing crazy to avoid prison work detail, manic free spirit Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is sent to the state mental hospital for evaluation. There he encounters a motley crew of mostly voluntary inmates, including cowed mama’s boy Billy (Brad Dourif) and silent Native American Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), presided over by the icy Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). Ratched and McMurphy recognize that each is the other’s worst enemy: an authority figure who equates sanity with correct behavior, and a misfit who is charismatic enough to dismantle the system simply by living as he pleases. McMurphy proceeds to instigate group insurrections large and small, ranging from a restorative basketball game to an unfettered afternoon boat trip and a tragic after-hours party with hookers and booze. Nurse Ratched, however, has the machinery of power on her side to ensure that McMurphy will not defeat her. Still, McMurphy’s message to live free or die is ultimately not lost on one inmate, revealing that escape is still possible even from the most oppressive conditions.

Tense thrills and action mix in the gritty suspense drama Don't Say a Word starring Michael Douglas and Brittany Murphy. Fox has done a very good job on this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. All aspects of this transfer look very good, from the evenly saturated color schemes to the deep, dark black levels. No edge enhancement, shimmer, or digital artifacting is spotted anywhere on this disc. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 in English (as well as 2.0 in French) and DTS Surround in English. Both the DTS and Dolby 5.1 soundtracks are full and bombastic with surround sounds utilized during much of the film. All aspects of these tracks are clear and free of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English subtitles. This edition of Don't Say a Word is chock-full of extra features. Starting off the disc are two commentaries: one feature-length commentary with director Gary Felder; and a second with actors Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Oliver Platt, and Brittany Murphy. While the director's commentary is insightful and runs the length of the film, the actor's commentaries are broken up in sections so each actor can give some information about their character or thoughts on the film separately. Taken as a whole, these commentary tracks are very thorough and informative. Next up are three sections: "Preproduction," "Production," and "Post-production." In the "Preproduction" section there is a screen test for actress Brittany Murphy and two insightful storyboard-to-scene comparisons. In the "Production" section is a featurette called "You Are There" which takes a behind-the-scenes look at three separate sequences narrated by the director. Also included are some screening room dailies which show how a scene is comprised of multiple takes or shots, and a set tour with production designer Nelson Coates that features Coates walking the viewer through many of the sets used in the film. In the "Post-production" section, there is an interview with director Gary Felder discussing filmmaking and what works best as a director, "Thriller Themes" which is a short spot about the music in the film (featuring composer Mark Isham in a few brief scenes), and "Inside a Scene: Trench Sequence," a feature that looks at how the end scenes was filmed and why the use of computer graphics was necessary. Also included on this disc are some deleted scenes which don't add much to the proceedings, a short making-of featurette that includes many clips from the film, and some vital statistics on the cast and crew. Finally, there is a DVD trailer for the Michael Douglas drama Wall Street. Strangely, there is no theatrical trailer available for Don't Say a Word anywhere on this disc. This DVD is filled to the brim with special features and should leave fans speechless.

The origins of the Caped Crusader of Gotham City are finally brought to the big screen in this new adaptation of the perennially popular comic-book series. The young Bruce Wayne (Gus Lewis) leads a privileged life as the son of wealthy, philanthropist parents, both of whom stress their commitment to improving the lives of the citizens of crime-ridden Gotham City. After his mother and father are murdered by a mugger, however, Wayne grows into an impudent young man (Christian Bale), full of rage and bent on retribution until encouraged by his childhood sweetheart, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), to search for answers beyond his own personal vendettas. Wayne eventually finds discipline in the Far East under the tutelage of Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a member of the mysterious League of Shadows who guides him in the study of martial arts — and the ways in which an ordinary man can hone his senses to an almost superhuman acuity. After seven years away from Gotham, Wayne returns, determined to bring peace and safety back to the city. With the help of his faithful manservant, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), a scientist at his late father’s corporation, Wayne develops a secret identity as Batman, a masked fighter for justice. But when a shady psychiatrist (Cillian Murphy) joins forces with the criminal underworld, Wayne realizes that putting an end to their nefarious plans will be very difficult indeed. Batman Begins also features Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon and Tom Wilkinson as the crime boss Carmine Falcone.

Death lurks, and two teenage girls try to figure out where he’s heading, in this sequel to the unexpected teen horror hit Final Destination. As Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), the only surviving passenger of the ill-fated Flight 180, waits in a mental institution, certain Death will claim her, Kim (A.J. Cook), who has begun to display precognitive powers, is driving along the highway when she sees a terrible accident in which several cars crash into a logging truck. Moments later, the horrible vision is gone, but Kim is certain she saw an accident that was supposed to happen but didn’t…and now Death will track down the souls he meant to take that day who slipped through his fingers. A police officer, Thomas Burke (Michael Landes), believes there’s a germ of truth in Kim’s story, and teams her up with Clear in hopes that together they can help prevent Death from snuffing out any more of the people involves in the accident that wasn’t. Tony Todd also returns from the first film as Mr. Bludworth.

Horror fantasist Clive Barker, director of the original Hellraiser, maintained creative control over this worthy sequel as Executive Producer, but was unable to occupy the director’s chair due to his involvement on other projects. His creative touch is still quite evident here, as the original film’s story is expanded in scope and intensity. The story picks up immediately after the events of the original, with the mentally-unbalanced Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) confined to a mental hospital after her experiences in the hellish domain of the grotesque Cenobites, which included the gruesome death of her father. Her case attracts the attention of hospital director Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), whose marked interest in her story has more than a little to do with his research into the occult. The chief focus of this extracurricular activity seems centered on his impressive collection of puzzle boxes, many of which are versions of the Lament Configuration — the device which opens the gateway to the Cenobites’ dimension. To further realize his diabolical obsession, Channard conducts grisly human sacrifices to resurrect the body of Kirsty’s evil stepmother Julia (Clare Higgins) — who has literally been through hell and back. He also recruits mute autistic patient Tiffany (Imogen Boorman), an expert at solving puzzles, to decipher the correct version of the box. Haunted by visions of her mutilated father suffering in hell, Kirsty joins Tiffany in hopes of rescuing him from the Cenobites’ dimension. Tiffany gains them access to the portal, and they make the nightmarish journey down the corridors of hell. Narrowly escaping the diabolical Pinhead (Doug Bradley), they come face-to-face with Julia, who has already handed Dr. Channard over to the Cenobites to be transformed into a hideous new creation. First-time director Tony Randel acquits himself nicely, and seems to have a real flair for the surreal material; the script by longtime Barker collaborator Peter Atkins elaborates on elements only hinted at in its predecessor. It should follow that the slightly larger budget would allow ample room for this expansion, but the production values actually appear somewhat slimmer. What the film lacks in refined style it makes up for in utter dementia, particularly in its depiction of graphic bloodletting — numerous scenes were trimmed or deleted altogether in order to obtain an ‘R’ from the MPAA.